"Maybe,"
Dennie conceded."But you're originally from the states.You know there's more to it than magic."

The
Bokur growled and stepped toward Dennie, his hand going for the pouch of
powder which hung at his waist.

"Please,
no?" begged Milan.The Bokur rounded on him."It....it might be better to keep Dennie alive for now.We....we might need to use him as a hostage later."

The
Bokur seemed to think the matter over then turned and with one fluid
movement reached into the pouch and pulled out some powder.He blew it into Dennie's face.

Dennie
froze for a brief second then fell sideways, hands now visible along with
the bloodied rope.

The
Bokur turned to Milan."Now, he lives but will not be a problem."

Milan
remained as the Bokur departed.He untied Dennie and carried him into another room, one which was
dark and smelled heavily of incense."I'm sorry," he told Dennie, lying him on a hardsurface.Milan returned to the door then turned and looked at the still
youth once before leaving.

Dennie
lay still, unable to move, wondering what was going to happen next.Imagining Artie's fear at being declared dead.Knowing, without a doubt, his bandmate had undergone the most
traumatic experience of his life....alone.

Mr.
Mondello followed the boys out of Artie's room, leaving him to rest.

"Mr.
Mondello, about the cave," Phil began."Chet will show you where it is while Biff and I look for
Dennie."

"Good
idea," Mr. Mondello agreed."Dennie said there was fresh air.We can go in underwater and look for the other entrance from the
inside."

After
Chet and Mr. Mondello went to get the SCUBA gear, Biff and Phil borrowed the
truck and headed towards Jima's plantation.

"Pull
over behind that hedge," Phil instructed Biff as they neared the
plantation.

"Why?"
Biff demanded as he did as ordered.

"Because
we don't need to be seen," Phil said."If one or all of Jima's bandmates are involved, we shouldn't
announce our arrival.If we follow them, they might lead us to Dennie."

Artie
sat up in bed, his pulse pounding and his eyes wide."It's okay," Mrs. Duvalier said, leaving her chair by
the window and coming to stand by Artie's bed."Would you care for some water?" she asked.

"Pl....please,"
Artie answered leaning back."Wh...where...."

"They
haven't returned yet," she told him."They haven't been gone long," Mrs. Duvalier added."Try and get some more rest," she urged him.

"I....I
ne....need to g....go t....to...." Artie began.

"The
bathroom?" she asked with the lift of a brow.Artie nodded."I'll get Galen," she told him."He'll help you."She walked to the door and opened it.

"Galen!"
she called, then returned to Artie's side."Are you hungry?" she asked him.

"A
li....little," he replied slowly.

"Good,"
said Dr. Duvalier smiling."A liquid diet," he specified, looking at his wife who
nodded in agreement before leaving the room.

"If
you feel up to it, how about a shower?"Dr. Duvalier asked Artie as he helped him to stand.

"That
sounds go....go....good," Artie replied with a smile.

Dr.
Duvalier helped Artie into the bathroom, then rounded up some clean
pajamas for him.When he returned to the bathroom, Artie had already managed to
start the water and removed his clothes.

"I'll
leave the door open in case you need anything," Dr. Duvalier told
him, then returned to the bedroom to change the sheets.

The
seawater had washed most of the dirt off Artie during his rescue but
there was enough left to have caked up and dirtied the sheets.Dr. Duvalier smiled as he put on clean ones, imagining how much
better Artie would feel after his shower.

The
water was shut off and Artie could be heard moving around.By the time he had put on his pajamas, Mrs. Duvalier had returned
with a bowl of chicken soup.

"You
just hop into bed and eat your soup," she told him."Then you can take another nap.By the time you wake up, the others should have returned."

Artie,
with Dr. Duvalier's arm for support, returned to bed.He gratefully accepted the soup with a smile and sipped the broth.Soon, his eyelids grew heavy.Mrs. Duvalier took the soup away and Artie lay back against his
pillow.In seconds, he was sound asleep.

When
Artie next awoke, his father, Chet, Biff and Phil were in the room with
him.

"How
are you feeling, son?" Mr. Mondello asked.

"Bet....ter,"
Artie said slowly, but without the stutter."Where....is....Dennie?" he asked, his brown eyes anxious.

"We
couldn't find him," Phil said softly."I followed Kreg all day and Biff tried to keep up with
Anthony."

"Tried
to?" Chet asked, giving Phil a quizzical look.

"I
followed him for about half an hour, then this truck pulled up and some
man with two bloodhounds got out," Biff explained."I tried to stay downwind, but it was no good.Those two treed me in less than five minutes."

"Bloodhounds?"
Mr. Mondello asked."Here?"

"Anthony
said, Conna, his friend, raises them.When Dennie went missing yesterday, he called Conna and asked him to
bring a couple to help find him," Biff informed the group.

"Did
they pick up Dennie's trail at all?" Chet asked.

"'Yeah,"
Biff acknowledged."But right at the border between their plantation and this
one, they started acting funny.Conna said someone had buried something which affected the dogs
sense of smell.They would be useless for a day or two."

"So
Dennie could still be on their plantation or he could be on this one."
Mr. Mondello stated, frowning.

"What
about the cave?" Phil asked."Did you find the other opening?When are we going to get those people out?"

"We
found it," Chet replied grimly."But it doesn't matter," he added.

"Why
not?" Biff demanded.

"Because
it was empty," Mr. Mondello answered.

"But
it isn't low tide," Phil said.

"Which
means, they are being kept somewhere else," Mr. Mondello said.

"Then
we have to find the new hiding place," Artie declared, his words
coming out slow, but strong."Dennie is probably being held there as well."

The Mondello Boys belong to Simon and Schuster and the Stratemeyer Foundation. The
Mondello Boys Fan Fiction authors of the
Mondello Detective Agency have just borrowed them for an adventure or
two. The authors promise to put the boys back when they are done with them. The
authors do claim copyright to the original characters in this story. Please do
not borrow original characters without express permission of the authors.